What to Do, #12

Design a line of coffins. In your line, include models for every organism that lives on the planet earth. You may need to garner assistance, develop a team, consult various breeds of scientists. 

Consider the thimble-sized poisonous jellyfish (those monsters). Consider giraffes. 

Think about what the burials would be like. How will your products meet the needs of the ceremonies? Consider how you might market them, what a transaction with a mourning python might be like. 

Maybe you’ll name each model. Maybe they will become works of art instead of serious business. But consider what will happen if you yield to art instead of business. Think of the waters of our world, edged with floating fish bellies, their scaly lips forming unobserved, dead little “o”s.  

Diane Goettel is the Executive Editor of Black Lawrence Press. She lives in Mount Vernon, New York with her family.

A Song for Diane